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Horizon League men's basketball tournament

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Horizon League men's basketball tournament
SportCollege basketball
ConferenceHorizon League
Number of teams12
FormatSingle-elimination tournament
Current stadiumIndiana Farmers Coliseum
Current locationIndianapolis, Indiana
Played1980–present
Last contest2024
Current championOakland (1)
Most championshipsButler Bulldogs (7)
TV partner(s)ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and ESPN+
Official websitehttps://horizonleague.org/tournaments/?id=63
Host stadiums
Roberts Municipal Stadium (1980–1983)
Campus locations (1981, 2003–2015, 2019–present)
Frederickson Fieldhouse (1981)
Riverfront Coliseum (1981, 1992)
Mabee Center (1982, 1985)
UIC Pavilion (1984, 1999–2000)
Market Square Arena (1986–1988, 1993)
University of Dayton Arena (1989–1991)
Hinkle Fieldhouse (1994, 2004, 2008–2010)
Nutter Center (1995–1997, 2001, 2007)
Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena (1998)
CSU Convocation Center (2002)
U.S. Cellular Arena (2003–2006, 2011)
Athletics–Recreation Center (2012–2013, 2015)
Resch Center (2014)
Joe Louis Arena (2016–2017)
Little Caesars Arena (2018–2019)
Indiana Farmers Coliseum (2020–present)

The Horizon League men's basketball conference tournament is held annually at the end of the men's college basketball regular season. The tournament has been played each year since 1980. The winner of the tournament is designated the Horizon League Tournament Champion and receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA men's basketball tournament. The finals of the tournament are typically among the first held before the field for the NCAA tournament is announced.

History and tournament format

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Through 2002, the entire tournament was hosted at a single venue. From 2003 through 2015, all first-round matches were played at the home court of the higher-seeded team involved. Hosting rights for the quarterfinals and semifinals were awarded to the winner of the regular season championship. The championship game was played at the home arena of the higher remaining seed. This format rewarded the regular-season champion and runner-up with a double-bye into the semifinals. The regular-season champion received the added benefit of home-court advantage in the semifinals, plus a home-court final if it won its semifinal.

Beginning in 2009, the Horizon League secured an entitlement sponsorship of its men's and women's basketball tournaments with Speedway SuperAmerica, a major gas and convenience store chain throughout the midwest United States, officially changing the name of the tournaments to "The Speedway Horizon League Men's/Women's Basketball Championship".

From 2016 to 2019, the Horizon League tournament was held in Detroit under a five-year deal, beginning at Joe Louis Arena, adding the women's tournament in 2017 (with both events marketed under the title Motor City Madness), and moving to the newly-opened Little Caesars Arena beginning in 2018.[1][2][3][4]

However, the contract with Detroit was ended a year early;[5] the league reopened bidding for the men's and women's tournaments in 2018, with the new contract taking effect with the 2019–20 season.[6] On January 25, 2019, the conference announced that Indianapolis would host the men's and women's semifinals and final from 2020 to 2022, with Indiana Farmers Coliseum as the venue.[7] In 2022, the deal was extended through 2026.[8]

Horizon League tournament champions

[edit]
Team Championships Years
Butler 7 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2008, 2010, 2011
Xavier 6 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991
Milwaukee 4 2003, 2005, 2006, 2014
Northern Kentucky 4 2017, 2019, 2020, 2023
Wright State 3 2007, 2018, 2022
Detroit Mercy 3 1994, 1999, 2012
Evansville 3 1982, 1992, 1993
Cleveland State 2 2009, 2021
Green Bay 2 1995, 2016
Oral Roberts 2 1980, 1984
UIC 2 2002, 2004
Valparaiso 2 2013, 2015
Dayton 1 1990
Loyola 1 1985
Northern Illinois 1 1996
Oakland 1 2024
Oklahoma City 1 1981
Duquesne 0
IU Indy 0
La Salle 0
Marquette 0
Purdue Fort Wayne 0
Robert Morris 0
Saint Louis 0
Youngstown State 0
Notes
  • Current conference members in bold.

Horizon League Tournament all-time standings

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Current members

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Through 2020 tournament finals
School Record Winning pct Championships
Detroit 33–37 .471 3
Wright State 28–24 .538 3
Green Bay 24–25 .490 2
Milwaukee 23–20 .535 4
Cleveland State 19–23 .452 3
Northern Kentucky 10–3 .769 3
Oakland 7–9 .438 0
Youngstown State 7–21 .250 0
Purdue Fort Wayne 2–2 .500 0
Robert Morris 1–2 .333 0
IU Indy 0–5 .000 0

Former members

[edit]
School Record Winning pct Championships
Butler 30–25 .545 7
Loyola 25–32 .439 1
Xavier 24–10 .706 6
UIC 24–25 .490 2
Evansville 15–12 .556 3
Valparaiso 8–6 .571 2
Oral Roberts 7–6 .538 2
Saint Louis 7–8 .467 0
Northern Illinois 5–2 .714 1
Dayton 5–4 .556 1
Oklahoma City 5–4 .556 1
Duquesne 1–1 .500 0
Marquette 0–2 .000 0
La Salle 0–3 .000 0

Horizon League Tournament results

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Year Champion Seed Score Runner-up Seed Tournament MVP Site
1980 Oral Roberts 2 103–93 Loyola 1 Calvin Garrett, Oral Roberts Roberts Municipal StadiumEvansville, IN
1981 Oklahoma City 2 82–76 Xavier 1 Anthony Hicks, Xavier Opening round: campus locations
Semifinals: Frederickson Fieldhouse – Oklahoma City, OK
Championship: Riverfront ColiseumCincinnati, OH
1982 Evansville 1 81–72 Loyola 3 Brad Leaf, Evansville Mabee CenterTulsa, OK
1983 Xavier 2 82–76 Loyola 1 Alfredrick Hughes, Loyola Roberts Municipal Stadium – Evansville, IN
1984 Oral Roberts 1 82–76 Xavier 3 Sam Potter, Oral Roberts UIC PavilionChicago, IL
1985 Loyola 1 89–83 Oral Roberts 3 Alfredrick Hughes, Loyola Mabee Center – Tulsa, OK
1986 Xavier 1 74–66 Saint Louis 2 Byron Larkin, Xavier Market Square ArenaIndianapolis, IN
1987 Xavier 3 81–69 Saint Louis 4
1988 Xavier 1 122–96 Detroit 6
1989 Xavier 3 85–78 Evansville 1 Tyrone Hill, Xavier University of Dayton ArenaDayton, OH
1990 Dayton 2 98–89 Xavier 1 Negele Knight, Dayton
1991 Xavier 1 81–68 Saint Louis 3 Jamie Gladden, Xavier
1992 Evansville 2 95–76 Butler 3 Parrish Casebier, Evansville Riverfront Coliseum – Cincinnati, OH
1993 Evansville 2 80–69 Xavier 1 Market Square Arena – Indianapolis, IN
1994 Detroit 4 72–63 Evansville 2 Andy Elkins, Evansville Hinkle Fieldhouse – Indianapolis, IN
1995 Green Bay 3 73–59 Wright State 8 Jeff Nordgaard, Green Bay Nutter Center – Dayton, OH
1996 Northern Illinois 3 84–63 Detroit 5 Chris Coleman, Northern Illinois
1997 Butler 1 69–68 UIC 3 Kelsey Wilson, Butler
1998 Butler 3 70–51 Green Bay 4 Jon Neuhouser, Butler Brown County Veterans Memorial ArenaGreen Bay, WI
1999 Detroit 1 72–65 Butler 2 Rashad Phillips, Detroit UIC Pavilion – Chicago, IL
2000 Butler 1 62–43 Detroit 3 Mike Marshall, Butler
2001 Butler 1 53–38 Detroit 2 LaVall Jordan, Butler Nutter Center – Dayton, OH
2002 UIC 6 76–75 (OT) Loyola 5 Cedrick Banks, UIC CSU Convocation CenterCleveland, OH
2003 Milwaukee 2 69–52 Butler 1 Clay Tucker, Milwaukee Opening round: campus locations
Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Championship: U.S. Cellular ArenaMilwaukee, WI
2004 UIC 2 65–62 Milwaukee 1 Armond Williams, UIC Opening round: campus locations
Quarterfinals, Semifinals: Hinkle Fieldhouse – Indianapolis, IN
Championship: U.S. Cellular Arena – Milwaukee, WI
2005 Milwaukee 1 59–58 Detroit 3 Joah Tucker, Milwaukee Opening round: campus locations
Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Championship: U.S. Cellular Arena – Milwaukee, WI
2006 Milwaukee 1 87–71 Butler 2 Adrian Tigert, Milwaukee
2007 Wright State 1 60–55 Butler 2 DaShaun Wood, Wright State Opening round: campus locations
Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Championship: Nutter Center – Dayton, OH
2008 Butler 1 70–55 Cleveland State 2 Mike Green, Butler Opening round: campus locations
Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Championship: Hinkle Fieldhouse – Indianapolis, IN
2009 Cleveland State 3 57–54 Butler 1 Cedric Jackson, Cleveland State
2010 Butler 1 70–45 Wright State 2 Matt Howard, Butler
2011 Butler 2 59–44 Milwaukee 1 Opening round: campus locations
Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Championship: U.S. Cellular Arena – Milwaukee, WI
2012 Detroit 3 70–50 Valparaiso 1 Ray McCallum, Jr., Detroit Opening round: campus locations
Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Championship: Athletics–Recreation CenterValparaiso, IN
2013 Valparaiso 1 62–54 Wright State 3 Erik Buggs, Valparaiso
2014 Milwaukee 5 69–63 Wright State 3 Jordan Aaron, Milwaukee Opening round: campus locations
Quarterfinals, Semifinals: Resch Center – Green Bay, WI
Championship: Nutter Center – Dayton, OH
2015 Valparaiso 1 54–44 Green Bay 2 Alec Peters, Valparaiso Opening round: campus locations
Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Championship: Athletics–Recreation Center – Valparaiso, IN
2016 Green Bay 4 78–69 Wright State 3 Jordan Fouse, Green Bay Joe Louis ArenaDetroit, MI
2017 Northern Kentucky 4 59–53 Milwaukee 10 Lavone Holland II, Northern Kentucky
2018 Wright State 2 74–57 Cleveland State 8 Grant Benzinger, Wright State Little Caesars Arena – Detroit, MI
2019 Northern Kentucky 2 77–66 Wright State 1 Drew McDonald, Northern Kentucky Opening round: campus locations
Semifinals, Championship: Little Caesars Arena – Detroit, MI
2020 Northern Kentucky 2 71–62 UIC 4 Jalen Tate, Northern Kentucky Opening round: campus locations
Semifinals, Championship: Indiana Farmers Coliseum – Indianapolis, IN
2021 Cleveland State 1 80–69 Oakland 3 Torrey Patton, Cleveland State
2022 Wright State 4 72–71 Northern Kentucky 3 Grant Basile, Wright State
2023 Northern Kentucky 4 63–61 Cleveland State 3 Marques Warrick, Northern Kentucky
2024 Oakland 1 83–76 Milwaukee 6 Trey Townsend, Oakland

Postseason appearances

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Horizon League members past and present have made several Sweet 16, Elite Eight, and Final Four appearances. Charter member Loyola also won the 1963 NCAA tournament.

Current tournaments

[edit]
Season NCAA Tournament National Invitation Tournament College Basketball Invitational
Team (seed) Finish Team (seed) Finish Team (seed) Finish
1980 Loyola First round Tournament
not
held
1981
1982 Evansville (10) First round Oral Roberts First round
1983 Xavier (12) Preliminary round
1984 Oral Roberts (11) First round Xavier Quarterfinals
1985 Loyola (4) Sweet 16 Butler First round
1986 Xavier (12) First round
1987 Xavier (13) Second round St. Louis Second round
1988 Xavier (11) First round Evansville First round
1989 Evansville (11) Second round St. Louis Runner-Up
Xavier (14) Second round
1990 Xavier (6) Sweet 16 St. Louis Runner-Up
Dayton (12) Second round Marquette First round
1991 Xavier (14) Second round Butler First round
1992 Evansville (8) First round Butler First round
1993 Xavier (9) Second round
Evansville (14) First round
1994 Xavier Quarterfinals
Evansville First round
1995 Green Bay (14) First round
Xavier (11) First round
1996 Green Bay (8) First round
Northern Illinois (14) First round
1997 Butler (14) First round
1998 UIC (9) First round
Detroit (10) Second round
Butler (13) First round
1999 Detroit (12) First round Butler Quarterfinals
2000 Butler (12) First round
2001 Butler (10) First round Detroit Semifinals
2002 UIC (15) First round Butler Second round
Detroit First round
2003 Butler (12) Sweet 16 UIC First round
Milwaukee (12) First round
2004 UIC (13) First round Milwaukee First round
2005 Milwaukee (12) Sweet 16
2006 Milwaukee (11) Second round Butler (8) First round
2007 Butler (5) Sweet 16
Wright State (14) First round
2008 Butler (7) Second round Cleveland State (6) First round Valparaiso (4) Second round
2009 Butler (9) First round Green Bay (2) First round
Cleveland State (13) Second round
2010 Butler (5) Nat'l Runner-Up Green Bay (3) Second round
2011 Butler (8) Nat'l Runner-Up Cleveland State (2) Second round
Milwaukee (5) First round
2012 Detroit (15) First round Cleveland State (6) First round Butler Semifinals
Valparaiso (7) First round Milwaukee First round
2013 Valparaiso (14) First round Detroit (6) First round Wright State Semifinals
2014 Milwaukee (15) First round Green Bay (4) First round
2015 Valparaiso (13) First round Green Bay (5) First round
2016 Green Bay (14) First round Valparaiso (1) Runner-Up
2017 Northern Kentucky (15) First round Oakland (7) Second round Green Bay First round
Valparaiso (7) First round UIC First round
2018 Wright State (13) First round Northern Kentucky (7) First round
2019 Northern Kentucky (14) First round Wright State (7) First round
2020 Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Cleveland State (15) First round
2022 Wright State (16) First round Cleveland State (7) First round Purdue Fort Wayne (16) First round
2023 Northern Kentucky (16) First round Youngstown State (8) First round Cleveland State (9) First round
Milwaukee (11) Quarterfinals

Defunct tournaments

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Season CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament Vegas 16 The Basketball Classic
Team Finish Team Finish Team Finish
2009 Tournament
not
held
Tournament
not
held
2010
2011 Valparaiso First round
2012
2013 Youngstown State Second round
UIC Second round
Green Bay First round
2014 Valparaiso First round
Wright State Second round
Cleveland State First round
2015 Cleveland State Second round
Oakland First round
2016 Oakland Runner-Up
2017 Tournament
not
held
2018 UIC Runner-Up
2019 Green Bay Runner-Up
2020 Tournament
not
held
2021
2022 Detroit Mercy First round
Youngstown State Quarterfinals

Broadcasters

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Television

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Year Network Play-by-play Analyst
2024 ESPN Jordan Bernfield David Padgett
2023 Mark Adams
2022 Bob Wischusen
2021 Jason Benetti Chris Spatola
2020 Dan Dakich
2019 Rich Hollenberg Fran Fraschilla
2018
2017 Bob Wischusen
2016 Mike Tirico Dan Dakich
2015 Bob Wischusen Jim Calhoun
2014 Malcolm Huckaby
2013[9] Stephen Bardo
2012[10] Mark Jones
2011[11] Bob Wischusen
2010[12] Jon Sciambi LaPhonso Ellis
2009[13] Ron Franklin Fran Fraschilla
2008[14] Terry Gannon Stephen Bardo
2007[15]
2006[16] Dave Barnett Tim McCormick and Jason Williams
2005[17] Dave Strader Stephen Bardo
2004[18] Dave Revsine Bob Valvano
2003[19]

Radio

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Year Network Play-by-play Analyst
2013 Westwood One Wayne Larrivee Will Perdue
2012 [20] Dave Ryan Pete Gillen
2011[21] Wayne Larrivee
2010[22]
2009[23] Mark Champion

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Moving Horizon League tourney to Detroit is all about branding". The Detroit News. MediaNews Group. May 7, 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  2. ^ Paul, Tony (January 25, 2019). "Motor City 'Sadness': Horizon League pulls plug on hoops tourneys in Detroit". The Detroit News. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  3. ^ Paul, Tony (May 7, 2015). "Moving Horizon League tourney to Detroit is all about branding". The Detroit News. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  4. ^ Potter, Bill (July 5, 2016). "Horizon League Announces 2017 Little Caesars Motor City Madness Updates". Horizon League. Archived from the original on January 20, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  5. ^ Paul, Tony (March 13, 2019). "'Beyond compare': Horizon League commish raves about four-year run in Detroit". The Detroit News. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  6. ^ "Horizon League Announces Bid Process for #HLMBB and #HLWBB Tournament" (Press release). Horizon League. October 12, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  7. ^ "Horizon League Announces Indianapolis as Future Site for #HLMBB and #HLWBB Championships" (Press release). Horizon League. January 25, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  8. ^ "Indianapolis to Remain Home of Horizon League Basketball Championships as HL and ISFC Extend Partnership" (Press release). Horizon League. September 20, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  9. ^ "Championship Week Presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods Schedule - ESPN Press Room U.S." 4 March 2013.
  10. ^ "Championship Week: Coverage of a Record 137 Men's Games Begins March 1 | ESPN MediaZone". Archived from the original on 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  11. ^ http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/2011/02/28/championship-week-presented-by-dick%e2%80%99s-sporting-goods-schedule/?s-sporting-goods-schedule/
  12. ^ "Championship Week Begins Thursday, March 4 | ESPN MediaZone". Espnmediazone3.com. 2010-03-02. Archived from the original on 2010-04-12. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  13. ^ "ESPN Press Room". www.espnmediazone.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2009.
  14. ^ "Vikings Face Butler In Horizon League Title Game - CLEVELAND STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE". Csuvikings.cstv.com. Archived from the original on 2008-03-27. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  15. ^ "What to Watch: College basketball lovers rejoice". www.mysanantonio.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009.
  16. ^ "Milwaukee Athletics - Men's Basketball". Uwmpanthers.cstv.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  17. ^ "Milwaukee Athletics - Men's Basketball". Uwmpanthers.cstv.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  18. ^ "Milwaukee Athletics - Men's Basketball". Uwmpanthers.cstv.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  19. ^ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/wiml/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/champnotes.pdf Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine [bare URL PDF]
  20. ^ "Horizon League Championship Highlights: Detroit 70 – Valparaiso 50 | Westwood One SportsWestwood One Sports". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  21. ^ "We've Moved!".
  22. ^ http://the506.com/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1267859867;start=all [dead link]
  23. ^ http://images.westwoodone.com/images/pdf/pressreleases/2009NCAAChampionshipWeek.pdf [permanent dead link]